World premiere on a 32-Inch Bike ends with a podium finish
At the Short Track World Cup (XCC) in Lenzerheide, Alessandra Keller rode to an outstanding third-place finish in front of her home crowd, marking a successful debut for the new 32-inch bike at the highest level. Keller and Mathias Flückiger were the first athletes ever to compete in a World Cup race on a 32-inch mountain bike.
In front of her home crowd, Alessandra Keller delivered an aggressive and focused performance on her new Thömus bike. The World Champion stayed with the leading group throughout the race and, after riding extremely aggressively, was rewarded with an outstanding third-place finish—her third consecutive World Cup podium finish.
Keller: “Felt great on the new bike”
“My goal today was to finish in the top eight so I could start from the front row on Sunday. But I felt great on the new bike, and it’s especially fun to ride straight onto the podium in front of a home crowd during this world premiere on a 32-inch bike,” Keller said happily at the finish.
In the men’s race, things didn’t go as the team had hoped. Vital Albin put in a consistent performance, finishing 21st, but was never able to make any significant ground. Lars Forster got caught up in a scramble at the start and had to resume the race from far back, which ultimately left him in 30th place. Mathias Flückiger didn’t have his best day and finished in 32nd place.
Thömus is launching the bike as a limited-edition pre-production model
As if the historic world premiere of the 32-inch bike at the World Cup hadn’t already been a highlight in itself, Thömus—the bike manufacturer and the team’s main sponsor—added another highlight: Immediately after Alessandra Keller’s podium finish, the company launched the Lightrider R32 World Cup as a limited pre-production run: initially 50 units, for anyone who wants to be among the first to ride what the world’s best are riding.
Starting now, customers can register at r32.thoemus.ch to secure the exclusive right to place a future, final order. Filling out the form does not constitute a binding order. Thomas Binggeli, CEO of Thömus: “We are an innovative and dynamic company, and together with our partners—such as DT Swiss, Schwalbe, and Team Thömus maxon—we constantly strive to develop the fastest and most innovative bike. Projects like this exemplify our open approach to developing new products and bike platforms.”
Sunday = Cross-Country day
At the home World Cup in Lenzerheide, the cross-country races on Sunday are the highlight of the program. The women’s race starts at 1:30 p.m., and the men’s race at 3:30 p.m.